Officials request time to decide building name

When former IU President Adam Herbert discovered last April that a campus building bears the name of a known segregationist, he vowed to take speedy action. Almost a year later, with Herbert out of office, the team of faculty and administrators responsible for resolving the issue is still requesting more time. \nThe All University Committee on Names met last week to discuss a recommendation it will make to President Michael McRobbie regarding the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center. The Committee decided to postpone its decision for another 30 days.\nLast April, Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer charged former IU officials with naming the intramural center after a known segregationist in a column. Shaffer discovered letters with racist sentiments written by Wildermuth, the building’s namesake, to former IU President Herman B Wells.\nTerry Clapacs, University vice president and chief administrative officer, heads the committee. He said a decision could not be reached last week because the committee members “all wanted to do more individual research.”\n“There are a lot of opinions,” Clapacs said. “There were 17 of us that met, and everybody had something to say about it, so it was a very interesting conversation.”\nSome fear that the issue has been long forgotten by the University, but board of trustees President Steve Ferguson said McRobbie has handled the situation appropriately.\n“I wouldn’t say (the timing) is unusual for recommendations within the University,” Ferguson said, adding that the results for these types of issues are not always immediate. \nRobert Goodman, dean of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, said he respects the work of the committee, and he hopes the campus can accept its decision, no matter how long it takes. \n“There’s absolutely no place and no justification in 2008 that smacks of racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism and any kind of discrimination,” he said. “We’re all the same under the skin.”\nWhen the story broke last April, IU was in the midst of administrative change. Outgoing IU President Adam Herbert and incoming President Michael McRobbie vowed to open dialogue about the issue. Both presidents had highlighted increased campus diversity as a part of their administrative agendas. \n“The issue demands dialogue within the University community before the board of trustees can give it consideration,” Herbert said in a statement last year. He added, however, that he expected a presentation to the board of trustees “as soon as possible.”\nStill, Ferguson said trustees had not yet been involved in discussions about the issue. \nAccording to the Office of University Ceremonies Web site, “The University reserves the right to withdraw from a naming agreement if the name of an individual or organization, which has been bestowed upon a facility, comes into disrepute in the University or in the general community.”\nIt’s up to the committee to decide whether Wildermuth’s name has come “into disrepute,” but McRobbie will not be able to pass along a recommendation to the board of trustees at least until next month.